have you seen that interview between audre lorde and james baldwin for essence magazine (1984)? they’re talking specifically about black experiences, but it was really interesting how baldwin brings out these classic misogynist/cissexist arguments (the same trash arguments that so many other men use to devalue women’s feelings/thoughts) and audre fights him on it. but then i thought about how baldwin died in the late eighties, that he wasn’t far from the end of his life by the time of the interview, so was he a misogynist for his entire life? did these views influence all of his work and do women who read his work have to fight him like audre did or else be wounded?

I feel that the two terms are very synonymous when it comes to Luciferianism, but I don’t think the…level of which they can be used is really thought of beyond things like “rebel angel” and more hard-fought, even perhaps physical pushes against someone or something. These can certainly be associations people have with the words, and when it comes to the last topic there is a lot of resisting going on– as there should be – but perhaps a less thought of degree would be that of the questioning we already do so much of, and by “less thought of” I mean people may not really thinking of just asking questions as a form of rebellion, not that they don’t think of it at all. Just stopping and taking the time to really look at something and ask questions to yourself, or perhaps someone involved with whatever is being questioned, not only shows a willingness to learn and understand, but also that you don’t want to accept things blindly and willingly without evaluating them first– if one chooses to accept them at all.

I fear that within my own practice, though I value all of these things very highly, I am still much too passive and have yet to implement them on a daily basis rather than with the uncommon burst of confidence. Before I came to Luciferianism, I often allowed myself to blindly follow authority and thought I made most of my decisions myself when that was never really the case. I feel it has had a detrimental impact on many aspects of my life rather than just those on this path. While I don’t wrestle with the beliefs and fears of past religions, I do encounter many old beliefs and fears of what’s “good for me” and what I should do with myself/how I should approach things, what I should think about XYZ, etc. that I had allowed people to put in place for me that I must be diligent in trying to put down. I must rebel against my old thoughts, actions, habits, and willingness to relinquish control of my life to another for the sake of an “easier” existence. It is a struggle– one that I often fail– but hey. No one said that this journey would be easy.